A popular favorite for picking and eating straight off the vine, even kids will love learning how to grow peas in the family garden! This delicious cold-season crop in the legume family is well worth growing if only to experience the notable taste difference between eating them freshly picked over store-bought.
Whether you grow Snap Peas, Sweet Peas or Snow Peas - they make a great early spring or fall crop, just be sure not to let them sit in the fridge for too long after harvesting! High in healthy carbohydrates and protein, they are a great base for vegetarian dishes or paired as a side to meat or fish.
Growing peas in GardenSoxx® | Plant Family: Fabaceae
Different Varieties of Peas
All different varieties of peas that can be grown in the garden fall under three main categories: Snow Peas, Shelling Peas and Snap Peas. Snow Peas have edible pods containing very small peas, allowing the pod to stay relatively flat. Shelling Peas have a thicker pod that is not edible, but a much larger pea that grows inside and is removed from the pod before consumption. Snap peas offer the best of both worlds: an edible crispy pod, filled with plump delicious peas that can be eaten right off the plant or cooked into a delicious summer side dish.
Green Beauty Peas are a popular variety of Snow Pea that produces very tall vines and large, prolific pods with an excellent flavor. Training the vines up a tall trellis or even creating a tee-pee with GardenSoxx at the base is a great way to grow this variety. In addition to your abundant pea harvest you can also enjoy the pretty purple blooms that the plant produces.
Add a pop of color to your garden with the Purple Velvet Snow Pea variety. Not only does this plant produce deep-colored purple snow peas, but it will also delight you with its bright pink flowers. Maturing in about 60 days from planting, this variety grows to 30 inches tall.
A high-producing variety with a sweet, pleasant flavor, the Spring Pea will need a trellis to support it as it grows to a height of 2 feet. The pods contain 6 or 7 medium-sized peas and will be ready to harvest in about 60 days or so.
The Little Marvel, an heirloom variety of pea, is an ideal option for smaller gardens, producing plants that grow to a maximum of 2ft and provide an abundance of small green peas, with a tender texture and sweet taste.
A reliable and deliciously sweet option for home-growers are Amish Snap Peas. These heirloom seeds produce plants that take a bit longer to mature (75 days or so) but are well worth the wait. The more you pick, the more this plant will produce!
A prize-winning variety that is increasingly popular among gardeners is the Sugar Snap Pea - it is also the variety most often found in grocery stores. Plants will start producing a harvest in as little as 55 days and the crunchy, sweet pods grow in great abundance.
Nutritional Information For Peas
Nutritional Facts - per 100/g
| Nutrient | Amount | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 81 | - |
| Total Fat | 0.4 g | - |
| Sodium | 5 mg | - |
| Potassium | 244 mg | - |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g | - |
| Sugar | 6 g | - |
| Protein | 5 g | - |
| Vitamin C | - | 66% |
| Iron | - | 8% |
| Vitamin B6 | - | 10% |
| Magnesium | - | 8% |
| Calcium | - | 2% |
How to Grow Peas in Your GardenSoxx®
For optimum sweetness, plant peas in an area that gets full sun and has well-draining soil. Peas can be planted when the soil is still cool, at the very beginning of the spring, even if the last spring frost has not yet passed. Seeds can be sown close together, with only about 2-3 inches between them and at a 1-inch depth in the soil. All varieties of pea plants will benefit from having a trellis to support their growth. Due to their ability to fix nitrogen in the soil, peas make an excellent companion plant to other crops that require more of this essential plant nutrient.
Peas Seed to Harvest Time: Approximately 65 days
How to Harvest Peas
Once you notice flowers blooming on the plant vine, pea pods will follow soon after. Inspect the plant every day or so, being sure to move the foliage around in case the pea pods are hidden behind it so not to miss out on any of your harvest. Harvesting often will encourage more growth.
